My water stays clear. Gear listed in the link in my sig or on my custm member page linked to the left.
How to get crystal clear water?
- Thread starter JosephMCorbett
- Start date
Order the Penguin RFUG kits to get the prefilter sponges at least - the kit is cheaper than the FilterMax kits locally for me. It is coarse, but only fairly fine stuff gets through. If that does not do the job, step up to FilterMax. If you are still unhappy, add, don't replace the sponges, the HOT Magnum, and prefilter it as suggesteed. But keep the HOT prefilter really clean to keep from starving the pump (rinse every 2nd or 3rd day). The HOT, when used with additional mechanical (the powerhead sponges at least, or those plus prefiltering the HOT) will keep the tank diatom-clear.
If the p/h pump is cavitating, it means it is starved for flow - wrong sponge or clogged sponge such that the impeller is starved.
If the p/h pump is cavitating, it means it is starved for flow - wrong sponge or clogged sponge such that the impeller is starved.
I don't mean to hijack this thread but I have a question regarding the HOT Magnum micron cartridge. Once the cartridge becomes clogged is there a good way to clean it or does the thing have to be replaced? I've tried to clean mine but with very little success.
I have a classic eheim canister filter that captures pretty much everything. Water oes through ceramic beads, then a course filter pad, then lots of gravel-like substrate, then a fine filter pad. I also use an aquaclear hang on back with sponge and ceramic beads. I put filter floss on top to polish that water. I have a planted tank and seems everyone with a planted tank has very clear water, cept when they have algae.
Slappy - the micron pads are bleached, rinsed and de-clor'd, then ready for re-use. this is the reason for specifying that two are needed - one in use, the other being cleaned and then held held for next trade-out. They are fairly lasting.
RTR is there any other reason besides cavitation that could be causing my p/hs to release fine bubbles. My LFS said to make sure that they are completely submersed so that air doesn't get into the case from the top. Did that...no improvement. The flow on them is great. The grates are clean, the sponge pre-filters are clean. Tiny, little bubbles. Looks also like my Filstar is releasing some as well. I think the ceramic bio-media holds alot of air or creats alot of air from the bacteria and then periodically releases it...not sure. As I plant more, I'm not going to need the bio-media anyway. Or the carbon for that matter with ferts. Just sponges and micron floss in the cannister for a planted tank? I know there is blow-by as well. Not sure what to do with my current hardware to fix the bubble problem - looks like if I want to fix it, I need a new filter and new p/hs. I've read alot of your posts and you seem to use relatively low light and no co2 for your planted tanks. You say you also try not to have too much surface agitation. Are you relying on your cannister filters to airiate your water? Is that enough for me (check out the sig. for fish list)? Would one cannister airiate a 125 gallon tank with 30 4 inch fish in it? Sorry lots of questions.
are thos tiny little bubbles look like dust floating around? if so i had the same problem its gone now ever since i did a 75% water change
I can't think of any other reason for small-bubble generation in the powerheads or external filters. All I have had myself have been impeller starvation issues from whatever source.
I did away with the high-light pressurized CO2 tanks ages ago - required too much effort in pruning/upkeep. I have too many tanks for that. Some of my tanks still get routine supplements up to and including Excel, but no CO2 as such.
I have plenty of current within the tanks, just minimum surface breaks. The circulating range does get breaks (it is on 4 levels, with constant-level siphons connecting) from the level changes, so did blow off CO2 quite well.
I have biofilters all over the place, even on the heavily planted tanks with full supplements. I am very much a belt & suspenders type - nothing is critical-path single unit supported. I have more equipment than I use anyway, having functional back-ups is no extra hassle for me. I know well that the biofilters are well inoculated but not competent to handle the bioloads in their tanks alone - found that out the hard way stealing them for freshly set FO tanks. If I want to use them for new FO of comparable biolod, I need to give them a week or two of ammonia feeding on an empty tank to boost colony size first. And the setups from which they were stolen show no metabolites in the meantime - but then they also have back-ups. So personally I have biomedia in dedicated canisters, biofiltration only, externally prefiltered for mechanical protection from being silted. I did separate bio- and mech filration quite some years back, it makes life easier for me. I can go through swapping out mechanical filter sponges without touching or disturbing biomedia or being concerned about preserving nitrifying bacteria. One advantage on using only a limited variety of filtration technics and having run more tanks in the pst than I operate currently. My son has big plans for inheriting all my equipment...
I did away with the high-light pressurized CO2 tanks ages ago - required too much effort in pruning/upkeep. I have too many tanks for that. Some of my tanks still get routine supplements up to and including Excel, but no CO2 as such.
I have plenty of current within the tanks, just minimum surface breaks. The circulating range does get breaks (it is on 4 levels, with constant-level siphons connecting) from the level changes, so did blow off CO2 quite well.
I have biofilters all over the place, even on the heavily planted tanks with full supplements. I am very much a belt & suspenders type - nothing is critical-path single unit supported. I have more equipment than I use anyway, having functional back-ups is no extra hassle for me. I know well that the biofilters are well inoculated but not competent to handle the bioloads in their tanks alone - found that out the hard way stealing them for freshly set FO tanks. If I want to use them for new FO of comparable biolod, I need to give them a week or two of ammonia feeding on an empty tank to boost colony size first. And the setups from which they were stolen show no metabolites in the meantime - but then they also have back-ups. So personally I have biomedia in dedicated canisters, biofiltration only, externally prefiltered for mechanical protection from being silted. I did separate bio- and mech filration quite some years back, it makes life easier for me. I can go through swapping out mechanical filter sponges without touching or disturbing biomedia or being concerned about preserving nitrifying bacteria. One advantage on using only a limited variety of filtration technics and having run more tanks in the pst than I operate currently. My son has big plans for inheriting all my equipment...
Time, is all you need for a clear water aquarium,
all I run is a hot mag 250 with the foam sleeve nothing else in it, and a power head on a coffee can filter I made for polyester fiber fill to filer out the finner stuff.
Plants and wood and fish is all I have, weather I do a w/c a week or once a month, my water is never less then clear.
Live plants is a big helper,
UGFs are nice to but are a pain to clean when the tme is needed, unless your running reverse flow power heads on them with a filter that can get the stuff out of the water.
all I run is a hot mag 250 with the foam sleeve nothing else in it, and a power head on a coffee can filter I made for polyester fiber fill to filer out the finner stuff.
Plants and wood and fish is all I have, weather I do a w/c a week or once a month, my water is never less then clear.
Live plants is a big helper,
UGFs are nice to but are a pain to clean when the tme is needed, unless your running reverse flow power heads on them with a filter that can get the stuff out of the water.
